The Price of Knowledge
by Jake Eronin
Summary: Hojo is back, and he has done more research with the JENOVA project...
1. Chapter 1

The sun was high as the Tiny Bronco skimmed over the surface of the water. Cid grimaced slightly and he wiped the sweat from his brow, pushing his goggles a bit farther up on his head.  
  
Yuffie giggled at the red lines embedded in Cid's head. "Nice goggle lines." She smirked. Cid just shook his head and continued piloting the plane down the coast of Wutai. Cid was very attached to that plane. It was his baby. It used to fly, until that incident in Rocket Town with Shinra.  
  
'Damn Cloud,' he thought, 'him and his damn problems. I can't believe I let him take her. She worked fine until he came along and let goddamn Shinra shoot her down!' Cid took one last drag off his cigarette and flicked it into the wind, a small trail of ashes blowing onto his coat. He brushed them off and banked right, out into deeper waters.  
  
Yuffie stretched out on the wing and tilted her head up toward the sun. "Cheer up, Cid. It's a nice day, and you've got your plane back. You can fix it when you get home, anyway!" She sent a light kick into his shoulder, and he could only smile.  
  
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Cloud stood at the helm of the airship, piloting it toward Cosmo Canyon. It seemed like a new home to him, as he did not have one after Sephiroth had burned down  
  
Nibelheim. He felt welcome in Tifa's 7th Heaven back in Midgar, but that was not a pleasant place anymore. Not that it ever was, to him, anyway. He stared ahead, wondering how anyone could have enjoyed living in the slums and shadows of that awful place, ignoring the tugging at his pants leg.  
  
Red XIII growled and pulled harder on Cloud's pants. "Hey! Stop!" Cloud jerked and looked around confusedly. He pulled the ship to a slow speed and lowered his gaze to the creature beside him. Red looked up. "Smooth, Cloud. We passed Cosmo Canyon about five minutes ago."  
  
"Sorry…"Cloud sighed and turned the airship around. He sped back toward the canyon and dropped the ship down at the base of the hill. Everybody unloaded, Vincent slipped off on his own, and Tifa stopped Cloud at the top of the rope ladder.  
  
"Hey, you. What's the matter?" She poked a finger into the middle of his chest. Cloud took a half step back and looked down at her finger. He wrapped his fingers lightly around her wrist and took her hand away.  
  
"Nothing is the matter. Let's go." He stepped around her and went down the ladder. Tifa stood on the above, watched him climb down, and sighed. She took one last look around the deck and started down the ladder to join the others.  
  
Barret tapped her on the shoulder when her feet touched the ground; she jumped. "Hey.. Don't worry about the kid. He'll be all right. You've seen him like this before. He just gets all f***ed up. Wrapped up in his own thoughts. You know." She nodded, placed a soft pat on his shoulder, and headed toward the rest of the group, Barret close in tow. 


	2. Chapter 2

They all took a seat around the fire in the commons of Cosmo Canyon. Tifa quickly stole in beside Cloud and she flashed a smile at him. Cloud smirked slightly and pulled her into a quick hug, then dropped his arm away. Vincent squinted in the light and lowered his gaze to the ground in front of him. 'When are Cid and Yuffie going to get here?' He sighed, closed his eyes, and drew his cloak up tighter.  
  
Reeve looked around at the others. He stood and pulled out one of the tazers that he had stolen from Reno and did a few thrusts with it. Everyone just stared. Reeve's face suddenly became flush. "Well… eh… I always used Cait Sith to fight with! I figured that I should get acquainted with some form of weapon, in case I didn't have the doll around to protect me." He nodded, assuring himself more than anyone, and patted the control to Cait Sith, the robot cat atop a giant mog. Inside the airship, the moogle punched as a result to Reeve's tap on the control.  
  
Cloud grinned, stood, and pulled his Buster Sword off his back. "Here… Try this out. It's a good thing a kept it." He smirked and reached over with the massive blade in one hand. Reeve dropped the tazer and took hold of the handle. Cloud released his grip and the blade dropped toward the ground. Reeve gasped and brought his other hand up just as the tip of the sword sunk into the soil. Reeve strained and heaved, painstakingly lifting the blade into the air. He rested it up against his shoulder and panted, giving a glance of astonishment over at Cloud. Barret let out a chuckle and grabbed a hold on the hilt of the sword, and he passed it back to Cloud.  
  
"Cloud, how do you use that?" Cloud shrugged. Reeve sighed and picked up the tazer again. "Thanks, but no thanks. I'll stick to this for now." He spun it around his fingers and took a seat beside Vincent.  
  
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Cid took a drag off his cigarette, which produced the only light other than the stars. He had allowed Yuffie to take control of his plane, as long as she promised not to go too close to the shore. She giggled and piloted carefully, hoping to keep Cid happy. She kept one hand on the controls and used the other to fuss with her headband. Cid dangled his legs off the edge of the wing and stared skyward. "Good job, Yuff. Keep 'er straight." She smiled and continued along the course as the smoke from Cid's cigarette drifted along behind them. 


	3. Chapter 3

Cloud leapt, Ultima Weapon in hand. He raised the blade high above his head, performed a quick flip, and slammed the blade down toward Sephiroth's shoulder. The master SOLDIER simply sidestepped and brought his Masamune up to push Cloud's sword aside. He flipped his hair back over his shoulders and let out a short laugh as Cloud rolled to his feet. Sephiroth lunged forward, sword held out toward his adversary's chest. A shot rang out of the darkness around the edges of the circle of light, and knocked Sephiroth's sword to the left. Vincent stepped into the light. He leveled the barrel of the Death Penalty on Hojo's pride and joy. "Stop this now, Sephiroth!" Vincent released a deep growl as he yelled, and horns burst from his head. His cloak tore as wings ripped from his back. A dark gray took to his skin and his feet and hands grew into talons and claws. He was a full demon.  
  
Sephiroth simply grinned. "That's all that you have? A demon? Oh, and of course, the child." Cloud sneered and hoisted up his sword. "You must know that I've only been toying with you. This is mere—" He was interrupted by the shining tip of a spearhead that was lodged through his chest. Cid stood behind him grinning, the smoke off his cigarette drifting in lazy circles around his head. Sephiroth dropped to his knees and his hair spilled around him like a fountain. "This cannot be…the meteor… I… Sephiroth collapsed and sent the Masamune sliding across the floor. Cid pulled up on the shaft of the Venus Gospel and wiped the blood off on the tails of Sephiroth's cloak. Cloud picked up the Masamune and gasped at the weight.  
  
Yuffie tapped Cloud on the shoulder and he woke with a start. She giggled. He turned a light red and looked down into his lap. Tifa nudged him with her shoulder and he leaned away. A quiet chuckle came from Reeve at the expense of a side comment of Vincent's. Barret and Cid gave snide smiles. Red wasn't around to see it, and Cloud was glad. Yuffie smiled and stole a glance skyward. "Maybe you should go to bed, Cloud?" He nodded, checked the sky where the giant meteor had once been, and trudged sleepily off toward the inn. Tifa stood silently and crept after him.  
  
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Cloud climbed the rope ladder of the inn, slipped into the room on the right, and collapsed onto the bed on his back. A long sigh came from his chest and he draped an arm up over his head. Tifa peeked in to see if he was asleep yet. Cloud knew that she was there and pretended to doze. She snickered quietly to herself and slinked into the room just beside his bed. She slid up onto the bed and straddled him, grinning slyly. Cloud turned a bright red and was glad that it was dark. Tifa gently caressed his cheek and felt that it was warm. "Okay, Cloud. You're awake. I've got you pinned. What are you going to do about it?" He shook his head and tried to roll over, to which she answered with a squeeze of her knees to crush against his ribs. "Well?" He sighed and opened his eyes.  
  
"Well, nothing. I want to sleep." She sighed and hopped down off the bed and headed out the door. She took a step in and smiled at him. She uttered a few words to him, but he had already drifted off.  
  
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When Tifa stepped outside again, she heard a laughter coming from her circle of friends. Reeve had gotten Cait Sith out of the airship and was chasing Nanaki around with it. Occasionally he would have the mog throw a punch toward the canine-like creature, but he could easily dodge, ducking under, or hopping over the stuffed arm. She smiled and hopped down the ladder and ran back to the group to get a closer look.  
  
The light of the fire caught the underside of something drifting overhead, but no one paid it any mind. Nanaki started to get tired, so Reeve moved Cait Sith to a spot beside him and allowed the young beast to rest. Barret looked up and noticed that something was hovering high up above them. It suddenly dropped down on top of the fire and everything was dark. 


	4. Chapter 4

Cloud woke and squinted in the sunlight that was filtering in through the doorway and slowly sat up, looking around. It was a warm day, and he felt a lot better than he had the previous evening. Pulling aside the cloth that was a door, he peered out to the courtyard of Cosmo Canyon to find it deserted, save for a few, scattered, burnt-out logs.  
  
He took a deep breath, climbed slowly down the ladder, and walked around the platform where his friends had been before he decided to leave the fun. Cloud's brow furrowed as he headed up the stairs toward the observatory, hoping to find somebody there.  
  
Reaching the pinnacle of the Canyon, he still found no sign of anyone, and climbed back down and moved to the large metal door, which Bugenhagen had opened before. Cloud discovered it closed, but not sealed. He gave it a swift kick, knocked it wide open, and took a step inside. A Gi Specter swept toward him and took a quick stab with its spear. Cloud, hopping back out of the door, cast Fire 3 and the ghost burst into flame and fell to the ground, fading away. He slammed the door back shut and ran back to the inn to pick up the Ultima Weapon.  
  
Going back to the door, he sighed heavily, preparing to clear the monsters from the Cave of Gi. A few paces from the gate, it burst outward and fell onto the ground in front of him, followed shortly by a group of three Specters. He ripped the sword from its place on his back and swung it directly down into the shoulder of the phantom. It hissed and faded away in a black smoke, just in time for the two behind it to lunge forward at Cloud, who brought the sword horizontally and slashed them both across the chest. They plummeted and fell at his feet, weakly reaching out to attack in their last moments, which Cloud met with a quick kick to both of their faces.  
  
He smirked, spun the sword around in the air, and then placed it in the scabbard on his back, momentarily forgetting he was on a quest to find the people of Cosmo Canyon. Pressing onward farther into the cave, he looked around, spying no movement, he breathed a sigh of relief. He took up a jog and plunged into the depths of the cavern. Cloud came upon the room of the Gi Nataak, and all of the citizens, but none of his friends.  
  
The innkeeper rushed up and grabbed him by the shoulders, pulling him into a hug. "Thank you for coming! How did you know we were here? Is it safe outside yet? Are you okay?"  
  
Cloud's head spun at the sudden bombardment of attention and he stumbled a step back, placing a hand to his temple. "Y-yes. it's safe outside. And I knew you were here because I checked everywhere else," he replied. Turning around and heading back out, he motioned them to follow him back to Cosmo Canyon.  
  
Once all out, the door was put back in place and sealed. They all thanked Cloud again and apologized for leaving him while they all took shelter in the cave. He shook his head and collected the Buster Sword from his room. The innkeeper apologized again and handed over a Cure materia, already mastered. "Thank you," Cloud said, "but do you have any idea where my friends are?" He was met with a shaking head and left to the airship, sighing. 


End file.
